0:00

I hear from lots of people

0:02

everyday who are concerned about how

0:05

their diet is affecting their health.

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They need answers based on facts

0:09

in other words, from the peer

0:11

reviewed medical literature, and that is

0:14

what I'm here for. Welcome to

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the Nutrition Facts Podcast! I'm your

0:18

host Doctor Michael Bragg. Today we

0:20

do the math on how many

0:23

fewer calories we have to eat

0:25

everyday to lose one pound of

0:27

body fat. The first surgical attempt

0:29

a body sculpting. Was in nineteen

0:32

Twenty one with a dancer wanting

0:34

to improve the shape of her

0:36

ankles. The surgeon apparently scrape the

0:38

too much tissue and tied the

0:40

stitches too tight resulting in the

0:42

Croesus. Amputation and the

0:44

first recorded malpractice suit in

0:47

the history of plastic surgery.

0:50

And. Today's liposuction is much

0:52

safer. Only. Killing.

0:55

About one in five thousand

0:57

patients. Mostly. From

0:59

unknown causes, throwing a clot off

1:01

into your long or perforations of

1:04

your internal organs. Liposuction

1:06

currently reigns as the most

1:08

popular cosmetic surgery in the

1:10

world, and it's effects are,

1:12

indeed, Only cosmetic.

1:15

A study published in the New England

1:17

Journal of Medicine assessed obese women before

1:20

and after having about twenty pounds of

1:22

fat sucked out of their bodies, resulting

1:24

in nearly twenty percent drop in their

1:26

total body fat. Normally.

1:29

Lose even just five to

1:31

ten percent of your body

1:33

weight and fan you get

1:35

significant improvements and blood pressure,

1:37

blood sugars, inflammation, cholesterol, and

1:39

triglycerides. But like post suction,

1:41

sucks, none of those benefits

1:43

materialized. even after the massive

1:45

liposuction. This. Suggests subcutaneous

1:47

fat. The fat under our

1:49

skin. Is. Not the problem.

1:52

The metabolic insults of obesity

1:54

arise from the visceral fat,

1:56

the fat surrounding or even

1:58

infiltrating our internal or. Then

2:00

like this that marveling our muscles

2:02

and liver the way you lose

2:04

that at the dangerous fat is

2:06

a taking fewer calories than you

2:09

burn. Anyone. Who seem

2:11

the biggest loser shows knows with

2:13

enough calorie restriction and exercise, hundreds

2:15

of pounds can be lost. Similarly,

2:17

there are cases in the medical

2:19

literature of what some referred to

2:21

as super obesity in which individuals

2:24

last up to three hundred and

2:26

seventy four pounds largely on their

2:28

own without professional help and kept

2:30

it off for years. The

2:32

guy lost about twenty pounds a month

2:35

cycling two hours a day in reducing

2:37

and take that eight hundred calories a

2:39

day and which down around what some

2:41

prisoners were getting a concentration camps and

2:43

World War Two. Perhaps.

2:46

America's most celebrated Tv weight loss

2:48

was one Oprah pulled out a

2:50

wagon full of fat representing the

2:52

sixty seven pounds he lost us

2:55

very low calorie diet. How many.

2:57

Calories. Didn't see have to cut

3:00

to achieve that within four months. Consult.

3:03

Leading nutrition text books or refer to

3:06

trusted authorities like the Male Clinic and

3:08

you'll learn the simple weight loss rule.

3:10

One pound of fat is equal to

3:12

thirty five hundred calories. Quoting.

3:14

From The Journal of the American Medical

3:17

Association: A total of thirty five hundred

3:19

dollars equals one pound of body weight.

3:22

This means if you decrease your intake

3:24

by five hundred calories daily. You

3:26

Will lose One pound per week. Five

3:29

hundred calories per day Time. Seven days.

3:31

Eagles. Thirty Five hundred. Tell her so.

3:33

One pound of body fat? The simple

3:35

weight loss rule. That's simply. Not.

3:38

True. The. Thirty Five Hundred

3:40

Calorie role can be traced back to

3:42

a paper nineteen Fifty Eight that just

3:44

noted that since fatty tissue on the

3:47

human body is eighty seven percent fat,

3:49

a pound of body fat wouldn't have

3:51

about three hundred ninety five grams of

3:53

pure fat. Multiply that by nine calories

3:55

per gram of fat gives you that

3:58

Thirty five hundred calories per pound. Proclamation.

4:01

The. Fatal flaw that leads to

4:03

dramatically exaggerated weight loss predictions is

4:06

that the Thirty Five Hundred Rule

4:08

fails to take into account the

4:10

fact that changes in the calories

4:13

inside of his energy balance equation

4:15

automatically lead to changes in calories

4:17

out. for example, that slowing of

4:20

metabolic rate that accompanies weight loss

4:22

known as metabolic adaptation. That's one

4:24

of the reasons weight loss plateaus.

4:27

For example, imagine a thirty year

4:29

old sedentary woman of average height.

4:31

Who weighs some hundred and fifty pounds

4:34

according to the thirty five hundred calorie

4:36

will. If she cuts five hundred calories

4:38

out of her daily died, she'd lose

4:41

a pound a week, or fifty two

4:43

pounds a year in three years. Then

4:45

she would. Vanish. She'd

4:48

go from hundred fifty pounds to

4:50

negative six. Obviously, that doesn't happen.

4:52

What would happen is that in

4:54

the first year, instead of losing

4:56

fifty two pounds, you'd likely lose

4:58

only thirty two pounds. And the

5:00

and after a storm, three years

5:03

stabilize and about a hundred pounds.

5:05

This is because it takes fewer

5:07

calories to exist as a thin

5:09

person, Part. Of it. Is

5:11

simple mechanics in the same way a

5:14

hummer requires more fuel the than a

5:16

compact car Think: so much more effort

5:18

it would take to just get out

5:21

of a chair, walk across the room

5:23

worth climb a few stairs carrying a

5:25

fifty pound backpacks that's no later than

5:27

during Fifty pounds in the front. Even.

5:30

When you're lying address sound asleep

5:33

or simply less of your body

5:35

to maintain as we lose weight.

5:37

every pound of fat tissue last

5:39

may mean one less mile of

5:41

blood vessels your body has that's

5:43

pump blood through every minute. So

5:45

the basic upkeep and movement a

5:47

sinner bodies takes fewer calories. So

5:49

as you lose weight by eating

5:51

less you end up needing last.

5:54

That's what the thirty five hundred

5:56

calorie rule doesn't take into account.

5:59

Or. A man. The unit the other

6:01

way to hundred pound man starts eating

6:03

five hundred more calories a day

6:05

and silica large soda to donuts, corn

6:08

to the thirty five hundred calories role.

6:10

In ten years, he'd way more

6:12

than seven hundred pounds. That doesn't happen,

6:14

because the heavier he is, the more

6:17

calories he burns just existing. If

6:19

you're one hundred pounds overweight, that's like

6:21

the skinny person inside you trying to

6:23

walk around balancing fourteen gallons of

6:25

oil at all times, or for lugging

6:28

around a second inning. Four hundred. Sticks

6:30

of butter wherever you go. It

6:32

takes about two donuts Worth the

6:34

extra energy just to live at

6:36

two hundred fifty pounds and of

6:39

that's where he plateau out if

6:41

he kept it up so. Weight

6:43

Gain Weight loss given a certain calorie

6:46

excess or deficit is a curve that

6:48

flattens out over time rather than a

6:50

straight line up or down. Nevertheless,

6:53

The thirty five hundred calorie rule

6:55

continues to crop up. Even.

6:57

In obesity journals, public health researchers

7:00

used it to calculate how many

7:02

pounds children might lose every year,

7:05

if for example, Sas food kids

7:07

meals swamped it in apple slices

7:09

instead of french fries. They

7:12

figured two meals a week

7:15

could add up to about

7:17

four pounds of gear v

7:20

actual difference. National Restaurant Association

7:22

funded researchers were no doubt

7:24

delighted to point out would

7:27

probably. Add less than. Half a

7:29

pound Ten times less than the

7:31

thirty five hundred calorie rule would

7:34

predict. The original article was subsequently.

7:36

Retract. In our

7:38

next story, we try to understand

7:41

the metabolic and behavioral adaptations that

7:43

slow weight loss. We. Have

7:45

millions of years of evolution

7:47

hard wiring us to survive

7:49

scarcity, compensatory survival mechanism somebody

7:52

uses to defend against weight

7:54

loss. So when we start

7:56

losing weight, we make unconsciously

7:59

start move. Was is

8:01

a behavioral adaption to conserve

8:03

energy. There are. Metabolic.

8:06

Adaptations: His wealth or metabolism

8:08

slows down every pound. A

8:10

weight loss may reduce our

8:12

resting metabolic rate by seven

8:14

calories a day. This may

8:17

only translate to a few

8:19

percent differences for most, but

8:21

can rapidly snowball For those

8:23

who achieve massive weight loss,

8:26

During one season, some the Biggest

8:28

Loser contestants famously had their metabolic

8:30

rates tracked above and beyond the

8:32

hundreds of calories less it takes

8:34

to just exist one hundred plus

8:36

pounds lighter. By the end of

8:38

the season, they're metabolic rate slowed

8:40

by an extra five hundred calories

8:42

a day. The

8:44

mine below work with that. Six

8:46

years later, they were retested and

8:48

still had to five hundred calorie

8:51

a day handicap. so the contestants

8:53

had to cut five hundred calories

8:55

more than anyone else their size

8:57

to maintain the same weight loss.

8:59

No wonder the bulk of their

9:01

weight was regained. Most.

9:04

Remained at least ten percent lower than

9:06

they're starting weight, though when even a

9:08

seven percent drop. Has. Been shown

9:10

to cut diabetes rates about in half.

9:13

Still, The metabolic slowing means you

9:15

have to work that much harder

9:18

than everyone else just to stay

9:20

in place. Analyzing. Four

9:22

Seasons of The Biggest Loser. Minute

9:24

By minute, researchers noted that eighty

9:26

five percent of the focus was

9:28

on exercise rather than died, though

9:30

the exercise component accounted for less

9:32

than half of the weight loss.

9:35

Even. Six years after their

9:37

season ended, the contestants had

9:40

been maintaining an hour of

9:42

daily vigorous exercise, yet still

9:44

regain most of the wait.

9:47

Why? Because they started eating

9:49

more. They. Could have cut their

9:51

exercise to just twenty minutes a day and

9:53

still maintain a hundred percent of their initial

9:55

weight loss of they would have just been

9:57

able to keep their intake to under three.

10:00

Thousand calories a day? That may

10:02

not sound like much of a

10:04

challenge. A weight loss doesn't just

10:06

slow your metabolism. it boosts your

10:09

appetite. A Super Just

10:11

a matter of your weight settling at

10:13

the point at which your reduced calorie

10:15

intake matches your reduced calorie output. It

10:17

would take years for your weight loss

10:19

to plateau. Instead, it often

10:21

happens within six eight months. As

10:24

you may know the drill, start

10:26

the died, stick to the died,

10:28

and then weight loss stalls six

10:31

months later. What

10:33

Happened? Don't blame your

10:35

metabolism, just plays a small

10:37

parts. What happened is that

10:39

you've likely actually stopped sticking

10:41

to your died because your

10:44

appetite went. On. A Rampage.

10:46

Let's break it down if you

10:48

cut eight hundred calories out of

10:50

your daily diet twenty six hundred

10:52

calories a day down to eighteen

10:54

hundred, and your weight loss stalls

10:56

after six months than what happened

10:58

there the end of the first

11:00

month, you think you're still cutting

11:02

eight hundred calories, but you may

11:04

actually only be done about six

11:06

hundred calories a day, my Mom

11:09

to your only down, about five

11:11

hundred months, Three, three hundred, and

11:13

by months six, you only eating.

11:15

Two hundred calories less than before you

11:17

went on. the died. In.

11:19

Other words: you inadvertently suffered an

11:21

exponential increase in calorie intake over

11:23

those six months. Yet you mean

11:26

even realize it, because by that

11:28

time your body may have ramped

11:30

your appetite up six hundred calories,

11:32

so it feels as though you're

11:34

eating eight hundred calories less. But

11:37

it's actually only two hundred since.

11:39

And eight hundred calorie drop an

11:41

intake may slow your metabolism and

11:43

physical activity about two hundred calories

11:45

a day, with no difference between

11:48

calories in and calories. Out at

11:50

six months, no wonder your weight loss

11:52

grinds to a complete. Solved.

11:55

The slow upward drifting calorie intake on

11:57

a new died. It's not because you.

12:00

The lazy. Once. Your

12:02

appetite is boosted by six hundred

12:04

hours after dieting for a while.

12:06

Eating two hundred calories less at

12:08

the end is as hard as

12:10

eating eight hundred dollars less at

12:12

the beginning. See to maintain the

12:14

same discipline, level of willpower, and

12:16

self control and still end up

12:18

stagnate. To. Prevent this from

12:20

happening. You. Need to maintain

12:22

the calorie deficit. How

12:25

is that possible in the face of

12:27

a ravenous appetite? Hunger.

12:29

Is a biological draws? Asking

12:31

someone to eat smaller portions

12:33

is like asking someone to

12:35

take fewer breasts. You can

12:37

white knuckle it for a

12:40

bit, but eventually nature wins

12:42

out. That's why I wrote

12:44

how not to die for

12:46

their food seconds counter the

12:48

slowing of our metabolism. It's

12:50

suppress our appetite ways of

12:52

eating to counter the behavioral

12:54

adaptation and even eat more

12:56

food. Get still lose weight.

12:59

Due. To the metabolic slowing and increased

13:01

appetite that accompanies weight loss. Sustained

13:03

weight loss requires a persistent calorie

13:05

deficit or three hundred to five

13:07

hundred calories a day. This

13:09

can be accomplished without reducing

13:11

portion sizes simply by lowering

13:13

the calorie density of meals.

13:15

This can result in the

13:17

rare combination of we've lost

13:19

with both an increase in

13:21

quality and even quantity of

13:23

food consumed. The bottom line

13:25

is that sustainable weight loss

13:28

is not about eating less

13:30

food, it's about eating better

13:32

so. We would

13:34

love it! If you could share

13:36

with us your stories about reinventing

13:38

your health through evidence based nutrition

13:40

go to Nutrition facts.org Less testimonials

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we may be able to shared

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on social media to help inspire

13:46

others. If you see any graphs,

13:48

charts, graphics, images are studies mentioned

13:50

here, please go to the Nutrition

13:53

Facts Podcast landing page. There you'll

13:55

find all the detailed information you

13:57

need, plus links to other sources

13:59

besides. For each of the topic.

14:01

My. Latest book, How Not That Age

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is Out now premiering at number two

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on the New York Times bestsellers list.

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Check it out of your local public

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who's own life was saved with

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